Upgrade to PT10 or Memory upgrade

[12bbb]

Need an opinion:

I'm running Mountain Lion with PT 9. Should I go for a memory upgrade or to PT10?

My budget doesn't allow for both at this time.

I presently have 6gigs of RAM

[YYR123]

Two issues

Memory will be cheaper in the future

PT11 will be out (hopefully) sometime this year.

I know I didn't help but that's ur dynamic !!

[John_Toolbox]

Originally Posted by 12bbb

Need an opinion:

I'm running Mountain Lion with PT 9. Should I go for a memory upgrade or to PT10?

My budget doesn't allow for both at this time.

I presently have 6gigs of RAM

You will gain nothing with a memory upgrade and PT9 since it can only use 4GB, so unless you are running another app simultaneously with PT that can utilize the extra RAM, I'd just wait for PT11.

PT10HD or PT10 + CPTK will take advantage of more RAM via disk cache, but the standard version of PT10 will not.

So if you want to buy something now, you really do need both for most situations.

[12bbb]

Then if PT9 and 10 only can take advantage of 4gigs, why do I get CPU errors when I use low buffer settings?

[YYR123]

9 Doesn't have the disk cache function

Your buffer setting is related to the speed at which your interface can talk to your computer

Really doesn't have anything to do with your RAM

Your OS will operate more smoothly if you have higher amounts of RAM (on x64 systems)

[CME]

Originally Posted by 12bbb

Then if PT9 and 10 only can take advantage of 4gigs, why do I get CPU errors when I use low buffer settings?

Low buffer is all about CPU horsepower. If you have an inadequate amount of ram (less than 2-3GB for most situations), that can cause issues, but in a 32-bit app 6GB is plenty. Unless you're using another app for something like hosting VI's.

It breaks down something like this. OSX itself doesn't use much ram. We'll say 2GB. Pro Tools can use up to 4GB, but in reality usually uses at most about 2.5-3GB. So your 6GB can cover that. If you have something hosting external VI's or your VI has an external memory server, it can access more RAM. But that's dependent on the VI and host. Most people are fine with 4-6 GB, with the expecting being HD/CPTK users using disc cache.

So in essence if you want to use low buffer settings with no errors you need more/faster cores/procs.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by CME

Low buffer is all about CPU horsepower.

I had no idea it was related -

On another note I did happen to lower my buffer settings with upgrading my hard drives as well - I went from 8mb cache to 32mb cache and it was tons more stable !!!!

[CME]

Originally Posted by YYR123

I had no idea it was related -

On another note I did happen to lower my buffer settings with upgrading my hard drives as well - I went from 8mb cache to 32mb cache and it was tons more stable !!!!

Well the playback buffer and hard drive buffer are two separate things. However increasing either can help performance.

The hard drive buffer holds data until it's ready to be read/written. If it's too small the system has to wait for space to be cleared before data can accessed/written.

The playback buffer is essentially how many samples (how much time) the CPU has to process the signal. So bigger buffers allow more time to get the signal processed and output. Hence lower buffers need more/faster cores/processors.

[John_Toolbox]

Originally Posted by CME

The playback buffer is essentially how many samples (how much time) the CPU has to process the signal. So bigger buffers allow more time to get the signal processed and output. Hence lower buffers need more/faster cores/processors.

^^^^ THIS!

Then if PT9 and 10 only can take advantage of 4gigs, why do I get CPU errors when I use low buffer settings?

As everyone has stated already, playback buffer settings directly affect CPU usage, which will not be corrected by installing more RAM.

Large playback buffer = Less CPU usage, but more latency
Small playback buffer = Less Latency, but higher CPU usage

If you want to be able to run smaller buffer sizes, you need to upgrade your CPU, which for a mac pro means a newer computer(There are ways to upgrade the CPU in some mac pros, but I don't think they are worth it in most cases).

Then if PT9 and 10 only can take advantage of 4gigs.....

The 4GB RAM limitation is a result of Pro Tools 9 and 10 being 32-bit programs, which can not access more than 4GB of RAM. When PT11 is released, it will be a 64 bit app, which will allow it to use as as much RAM as you can fit in any computer currently in existence.

Pro Tools 10HD's disk cache feature should not be confused with a 64 bit app. What it does is take unused RAM and treat it like a disk, so all of your audio is streamed directly from this RAM disk(much faster than reading it from a hard drive, so for huge sessions like a film mix you don't need to have your sessions spread across multiple drives). But the actual pro tools app for ANY version of Pro Tools 10 is still 32 bit.

[12bbb]

Thanks to all for the explanations. Realy help to clear up a lot.

One last Newb question:

When I run an instance of Addictive Drums and Xpand2, are we still talking abut CPU hit or Memory Hit?